Since its launch in 2022, Chinese online marketplace Temu has quickly become the world’s top seller thanks to low prices, fast shipping, bonuses and discounts. However, the platform’s design and features raise questions about whether it creates addictions among its users. Here is what Ukrainian experts say about it.
Since its launch in 2022, Chinese online marketplace Temu has quickly become the world’s top seller thanks to low prices, fast shipping, bonuses and discounts. However, the platform’s design and features raise questions about whether it creates addictions among its users. Here is what Ukrainian experts say about it.
Temu’s sales for the first 6 months of 2024 reached approximately $20 billion, surpassing full-year 2023 sales of $15.33 billion. Temu invests almost $500 million in marketing and promotion every quarter.
In May 2024, the European Commission classified Temu as a «very large online platform» — it has more than 45 million monthly active users in the EU. In September, Temu claimed 92 million users.
However, the European Commission has already started an investigation into whether the marketplace violates the requirements of the European Digital Services Act. In particular, she is interested in whether the design of the platform does not cause addiction in users and whether the service does not sell prohibited goods.
«The so-called „wheel of fortune“ used by Temu is a marketing mechanism. There are even separate sites where you can create your own „wheel“ by integrating it into your own platform», — said psychiatrist, psychotherapist, speaker Oleksiy Krapyvka in a comment to dev.ua.
According to him, such a tool is widely used in games and gambling platforms. It creates interest and helps better engage users.
«Wheel of Fortune» often promises a guaranteed win. In fact, the user receives a small reward or bonus, which encourages him to further participate», — the specialist noted.
Roman Sevastyanov, co-founder of Awesomic design recruitment service, told dev.ua that he considers Temu to be «an example of aggressive but extremely thoughtful design» that uses psychological triggers, interactivity, and gamification to draw the user into the shopping process.
«The psychology of buying Temu is built on the principle of „grab attention every second“, it’s like TikTok. Every element of the interface is thought out by psychologists-designers to keep the user», — he explained.
For people with a gambling addiction, the «wheel of fortune» is a direct associative path to gambling. It can become a trigger for repeated behavior. For example, impulse purchases. They will not take place for the sake of the goods, but to «spin the wheel», — says Oleksiy Krapyvka.
The expert explains that the visual appearance of the «wheel» creates the impression that the chances of winning a high prize are significant. But it is not so. Such a «trick» only exploits a person’s cognitive errors (evolutionary «bugs» of the brain that cannot help but happen, there are about 100 of them — ed.), forcing him to believe in winning.
«Every time a person spins the wheel, dopamine is released, which is associated with the expectation of a reward. Even if the result is disappointing, the process itself makes you want to repeat the action», — explains psychiatrist, psychotherapist, speaker Oleksiy Krapyvka. Therefore, such an offer will attract more and more people with addictions.
Read more about what «hooks» Temu has and whether the platform can threaten the Ukrainian marketplace Rozetka in our material.
